Modern house in historical Flanders near Brussels (& Antwerp & Leuven)

Open for exchange:Maximum stay:

September 09, 2013 - September 09, 20154 days

Short periods during schoolyear

Open for exchange

Open voor exchange proposals summer 2015 and short trips the whole year!

Welcome in Flanders, Belgium! (You can communicate with us in: Nederlands, english, français, deutsch, italiano). We are Ilja, Veerle, Alexander (7), Andreas (5). We did exchanges 4 times with France, Spain, Finland and Tenerife.

Near Brussels and Antwerp, in Flanders: within 2 hours from Germany (Köln, Aachen,..), France (Paris), The Netherlands (Amsterdam, Rotterdam), Great Britain (London). At 1,5h from the sea and the mountains. Very good public transport but also car exchange possible. Belgian Airports Brussels and Brussels South nearby. Direct, fast train and bus from Brussels Airport to our home! Summer temperature in Belgium is often around 25 °C.

Lying in a peaceful village central in Flanders, Belgium, our house is an excellent way to join nature and visit the wonderful villages of Brussels (capital of Europe) (30'), Ghent (1h), Bruges (Unesco) (1h30'), Antwerp (45'), and Leuven (University) (20'). Although you can use our car there is good public transport too. All shops and supermarkets are within 2km.

Our house in Tremelo (hometown of Father Damien) on 7,7 are is a new building (2009) with 2 double bed rooms and 2 child bedrooms, big bathroom, living room, kitchen, 2 toilets, 1 storage, summerhouse, carport,... All the comfort is there: dishwasher, washing machine, dryer, microwave oven, steam oven, big flatscreen tv, computer with free WIFI even outside, bath, shower, 2 toilets, a recent car (Volkswagen) with airco, carport, bikes for both adults and children... The house is a nearly passive house, with 3 double glass, strong isolation, floor heating everywhere.
You won't miss anything here and we'll do all the effort to make you feel at home and have a very pleasant journey.

Having all the facilities for kids, your family can enjoy the beach (1h45' driving) and the nearby (10' with bikes) lake where you can swim and go windsurf. Several playgrounds, new athletics track, parks, tennis, golf (2 beautiful golf courts nearby), squash, wall climbing, surf and sailing (1,5h) thermae sauna and 3 swimming pools (1 open air) are nearby. A zoo lies within cycling distance. Our region is also excellent for its nature so walking and biking in forests and along the river is often seen here. At the end of june/begin of july, you can experience the ambience of the best rockfestival of the world: Rock Werchter (only 5 min. driving).

Finally, Belgium is of course well known for its chocolates and waffles. You won't resist the very good Belgian kitchen in general and more specific the famous french fries with one of Belgiums famous beers (1000 types!) like the Trappists. Maybe you like Jacques Brel (museum Brussels), Adolphe Sax (museum Dinant), Permeke (museum Jabbeke), Damiaan (museum Tremelo), Jan De Kock (contemporary art), Luc Tuymans (painter), René Magritte (museum Brussels)....

Our location is an ideal spot to start your citytrip to Paris (3h30'), Amsterdam (2h15'), Cologne (2h) or London (4h30').

10 things you should do here:

1 Visit Leuven, a very beautiful city with great shopping opportunities
2 Drink a famous belgian Trappist beer like Chimay, Orval, Westmalle,... in the brewery.
3 Visit the nearby moated castle of Horst and walk along the vineyards just 10 min. from us.
4 Plan a daytrip to Bruges, Unesco protected and most beautiful city of Belgium
5 Eat mussels with french fries at the adresses we give you
6 Go see the Lam Gods painting (Van Eyck) or modern museums like the SMAK (Ghent) or the MAS (Antwerp)
7 Have fun with the Bonobo primates at het Planckendael Zoo or the Antwerp Zoo
8 Relax in the orient styled thermae of Grimbergen with plenty of baths and sauna's
9 Don't miss the Atomium in Brussels
10 Go to the beach at De Haan, a famous village in strictly conserved Normandian style

We are a young family, both working as psychologists and our kids Andreas and Alexander are 4 and 6 years old. We don't smoke and do not have pets. Please keep in mind we're allergic to dust mites so we prefer NOT to exchange with inhouse-pet owners. We did home exchange 3 times with Intervac in the past (Sweden, Spain and Paris). We will respect your house very well. We are looking forward to exchange homes with you!

Exchange types:

Destination wish list:

Our Home:

Property Details:

✔ Garden✔ Use/Exchange of car✔ Baby equipment✔ No smoking

Contact member:

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Spoken languages:

EnglishFrançaisDeutschDutch

References:

ES101230

Tremelo lies within min. 15 min. and max 1,5h driving to all beautiful cities in Flanders: Bruges, Antwerp, Leuven, Ghent, Brussels. The house lies in a quiet village outside the centre. You can walk or bike to all facilities like warehouses, bakery,... In the environment you find a zoo, parks, a lake, a golfspot, 3 swimming pools (1 open air), a river and several playgrounds for all ages. Maby you want to visit the birth house of Father Damien in Tremelo.

Surroundings:

De Plas, Rotselaar(5.0 km)

Demer(9.0 km)

Meetshoven(7.2 km)

Okay(1.5 km)

Golf Keerbergen(5.2 km)

De Plas, Rotselaar(9.0 km)

We both like nature in combination of interesting cities. We are sportive but also like culture in a broad sense: literature, films,... Veerle is a long distance runner in an athletic club and likes summer and winter sports. Ilja is interested in philosophy, sport, films, he learns the piano at the academy and thaiboks. Alexander (6) is in his first school now, youth association, swim club and music academy. Andreas (4) is very buzzy with being cute and stubborn :-). Both children like swimming and playing football.